My husband and I finally decided to break down and send in our tax return with the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit, despite our concerns of possibly losing $4k because of my old tax debt. We just really needed the money now, so much that $4k is better then waiting until next year for $8k. Ugh.
I still had no 100% firm answer from the IRS on whether or not they would take half of the credit and apply it towards my back taxes. But the general consensus was that we get to designate where the credit goes, not the IRS. It’s hard to accept that the IRS would ever let you decide something like that when you owe them money.
So we filed our taxes by mail this month. I sent it certified, which I recommend everyone do. I have had times where the IRS would actually input a later date then when it was really delivered. Thank goodness I had delivery confirmation. I had to send that in to them and they updated my account. If I hadn’t had that, it would have been seriously delayed in processing. And trust me, if you are filing an injured spouse form, have an offer in compromise, or are applying for the First Time Homebuyer Credit, they will take their sweet time.
Anyway, it was delivered 4/7/2010. I called yesterday to see if there were any updates, but they told me it’s too soon for them to even see it. I was told it would take something like 8 weeks to process. I can almost gaurantee it will probably take longer because I have so much going on with it. Which is really irritating. I will keep you all posted though when I hear something. I will be calling and checking in periodically. Which I also recommend anyone in a similar situation do.
Last year we filed the Injured Spouse form. There were all kinds of issues. A lot of back and forth, send this, send that, nonsense. And I tell you, me calling and hounding them was way more productive then waiting for mail correspondence. I would find out important things that had to be done by phone, then get the notice about it needing to be done in the mail, two weeks later.
Oh, and be SURE to include a copy of your HUD-1 settlement statement from your home purchase WITH your tax return AT THE TIME YOU MAIL IT. I believe they initially didn’t require that before they revised the tax credit. If you send it separate from your return, it could delay things. And I also do not believe you can file electronically if applying for that credit. So be prepared, because filing by mail takes way longer then what you might be used to when filing electronically.
We have bought our home and are finally moved in. So even though I have to deal with all this IRS nonsense… I couldn’t be happier!
